Polysaccharides, including derivatized polysaccharides such as cellulose derivatives, e.g., carboxymethyl cellulose and guar derivatives, e.g. carboxyl methyl guar, carboxylmethyl hydroxylpropyl guar, hydroxypropyl guar, and hydroxypropyl trimethylammonium guar and hydroxypropyl trimethylammonium hydroxypropyl guar, are commercially available materials used in a variety of applications, including as ingredients in personal care compositions.
Galactomannans are a class of polysaccharides composed of galactose and mannose. In general, the structure of the polymers consists of a linear chain of 1,4-linked beta D-mannopyranosyl units with single-membered alpha-D-galactopyranosyl units joined by 1,6 linkages. Galactomannans vary in the extent and uniformity of substitution with respect to their galactose moieties. For example, two sources of galactomannans are guar and locust bean gums. Galactomannan from guar has a galactose:mannose molar ratio of approximately 1:2. Galactomannan from locust bean gum has a galactose:mannose molar ratio of approximately 1:4.
There are three major components of a guar seed, i.e., the seed coat or hull, the endosperm, and the germ. The endosperm contains most of the galactomannan of the seed and consists mainly of galactomannan. In addition to the galactomannan, the endosperm of guar seeds contains proteins (5-7% wt) and small amounts of pectins, cellulose and hemicelluloses (each below 5%). During preparation of the galactomannan, some small amount of hull material containing cellulose may be processed with the galactomannan. In its natural state, the weight average molecular weight of guar galactomannan is typically in the millions.